How to Use Instagram Video for Marketing

They recently unveiled a video feature for their mobile app that transforms their already-powerful photo sharing network into a multimedia dynamo!

Combine that with the fact that Instagram offers ease of sharing on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and the future looks bright for marketers who take advantage of the new format to reach their online community.

In this article, we’ll explore 6 ways that you can use the new video feature to create visually compelling stories and promote your brand and marketing message online.

Instagram video has some interesting features for social media marketers.

What Instagram Has to Offer

While potentially viewed by outsiders simply as Facebook “catching up” to Twitter’s Vine app, the new Instagram video feature actually offers capabilities that social media marketers will want to note. Here’s a look at what Instagram has to offer.

Editing: Instagram offers users the ability to delete a segment from their video. With Vine, users must delete the entire video and start over.

Filters: Instagram brings their unique set of custom photo filters to their video tool, enabling users to add a filter to their video. Vine offers no filters at this time.

Audience: Instagram is currently used by over 130 million people. Vine’s audience is counted at 13 million users.

Integration: The Instagram video feature is housed within the existing Instagram app, making it immediately accessible to all users who update the app. Vine is a stand-alone app.

Cover Image Selection: Instagram lets you scroll through stills from the video and easily select the best cover photo for your video. This is important because the first impression can entice your audience to click through to view the video. Vine does not offer this feature.

Facebook In-Line Viewing: One of the most important differences is that Instagram videos play in-line on Facebook for desktop users. Like YouTube and Facebook videos, a Facebook user can click and watch the clip right within Facebook. Vine videos must be viewed by clicking out of Facebook. Conversely, it’s worth noting that Instagram videos must be viewed on Twitter by clicking out of Twitter.

#1: Shoot a Product Demo and Answer FAQs

Sometimes, a simple how-to video can answer your customers’ questions quickly and efficiently. Make a list of the most-asked questions your customer service department gets and use Instagram shorts to answer them.

For example, show how simple your product is to set up. Shoot step-by-step installation video segments and add narrations to give your viewers additional helpful information about your product.

Is your audience on Instagram? If so, this might be a great way to engage with them.

#5: Humanize Your Brand

We often hear about how brands “need to become human.” Social media has blurred the lines with real-time, real-life engagement between companies and customers, creating a need for companies to be transparent and more open.

Instagram videos offer an opportunity for brands to do this in bite-sized, easily digestible nuggets that showcase their culture and style. They can help differentiate your company from its competitors.

#6: Increase Engagement on Facebook

Videos and photos inspire the most engagement (comments, likes and shares) on Facebook. With Facebook integrating Instagram videos from inception, this can be a tool smart marketers use to boost community interaction on Facebook.

You can also simply use Instagram to copy the video URL and use the Instagram video in a Facebook Page post.

Instagram videos provide another tool for savvy Facebook marketers to use to build engagement with their community.

Conclusion

While the new Instagram video feature was only recently launched, the potential uses are vast! With Instagram already having an active user base of over 130 million users, this new tool offers some rich possibilities for marketers.

What do you think? Have you created any Instagram videos for your company? What results have you seen? Please share your ideas and examples below!